Chelsea midfielder Dewsbury-Hall names Luton defender and ex-Hatter in his all-time favourite XI

Luton summer signing Kal Naismith has been named in former Town loanee Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's all-time favourite XI along with another ex-Hatter in forward Elliot Lee.

The popular 26-year-old spent the 2020-21 campaign on loan at Kenilworth Road from Leicester City, playing 40 times for Town, scoring three goals, as despite no fans being allowed to watch games due to the Coronavirus restrictions that were in place then, he still won four awards at the end of the season, including being named Internet Player of the Season and also the Players’ Player of the Season.

The Luton side that term included Naismith, who is now back at the club after a loan spell last season, and Lee, who played a handful of games with him before a loan spell to Oxford United, the attacker released at the end of the following season, moving to Wrexham where has gone from the non-league to the Championship.

After returning to Leicester, Dewsbury-Hall made over 100 appearances for the Foxes, propelling them to the Championship title and promotion to the Premier League in May 2024, before heading to Stamford Bridge in a £30m deal to rejoin manager Enzo Maresca who had also moved to west London. He has now played 33 times in all competitions as the Blues won the Europa Conference League and is currently competing in the Club World Cup, scoring in the 4-1 win over Benfica on Saturday.

The talented midfielder was asked to name his favourite all-time line-up in a feature for Chelsea’s official website, with the rules being that he could pick any footballer, from any era and in the formation of his choosing. When naming his XI, both Naismith and Lee made the final cut, part of a team that also included Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney, as Dewsbury-Hall was also asked to give his reasons, which he did below.

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas – “He was the first goalkeeper I really looked at growing up. He was small for a keeper, but he had everything — I just thought, 'he’s top.' He really stood out for me as a kid.”

Left-back: Kal Naismith – “He’s one of my best mates now, after I played with him on loan at Luton. He is a really good player, and I loved playing with him on the pitch and we got on really well off it. He’ll be buzzing I’ve put him in — but it’s genuine. He deserves it.”

Centre-back: Rio Ferdinand – “I loved seeing clips of Rio Ferdinand growing up. I supported Manchester United when I was a really young kid and Rio was one of those my family would always talk about. I really appreciated him as a player growing up.”

Centre-back: Virgil van Dijk – “Having played against him, I appreciate how good he is and what he’s done for Liverpool. For me, he’s one of the all-time greats.”

Right-back: Ricardo Pereira – “I played with him at Leicester and he is an unbelievable right-back. He could play in loads of different positions and I always loved watching him play. I always say him when people ask who was the favourite players I played with at Leicester.”

Central midfielder: Paul Scholes – “He was my idol growing up. He is probably my favourite ever player. As a kid I drew some similarities with him. I was small, a bit weak and not the quickest so I appreciated how good he was without having all those physical attributes other players might have had. Then when I started understanding the game more, I realised how good he really was. When you hear top players saying he was the best they played against, that’s the highest compliment you can get, receiving compliments like that from top players who have played the game.”

Central midfielder: Kevin De Bruyne – “He’s probably my second favourite ever player. An absolute legend of the game and a massive miss to the Premier League. The things he does — the passes, the consistency — I play a similar sort of position and I know how hard that is and how hard it is to do that consistently.”

Central midfielder: Elliot Lee – “He’s a good mate of mine and he’s doing brilliantly at Wrexham. He's a very good No.10 - scores goals, works hard and is a great person. He’s had three promotions with the same club, from the National League to the Championship. You have to respect that because it is not easy. I loved playing with him and he is a good friend of mine now.”

Right wing: Lionel Messi – “He has to be in the team. I think he’s the greatest player of all time. It would be wrong not to have him in my all-time XI. I’ll have him cutting in from the right on his left foot.”

Left wing: Wayne Rooney – “He was one of those players that just made me fall in love with football. Watching him as a kid, I just dreamed of doing what he did. He had that effect on me growing up.”

Striker: Jamie Vardy – “What he’s done in his career speaks for itself. It was a pleasure to share the pitch with him and I would say he’s Leicester City’s best ever player.”

Meanwhile, Naismith also took the honour of being named skipper as well, as Dewsbury-Hall added: “I’ll give the captaincy to Kal Naismith — I think he’d be a good one — and I’ve got to give an honourable mention to George Thomas. We came through together and he was the first person I had a real partnership with. He helped me progress as a player and we are still great mates today. He’s not in the starting XI, but he’d be a brilliant super sub for the last ten minutes!